


don't make me wait too long

by WantToGetLost



Category: IT (2017), IT - Stephen King
Genre: 3+1, AU, Coming Out, Coming of Age, Falling In Love, Fluff, M/M, bc fuck that guy, no IT, real nice some like light angst promise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-13
Updated: 2018-01-13
Packaged: 2019-03-04 05:50:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13357860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WantToGetLost/pseuds/WantToGetLost
Summary: There have been at least three times in Eddie's life that he has longed for a kiss from Richie, and one time he finally gets what he wants (3 times they wanted to kiss and one time they did).





	don't make me wait too long

**Author's Note:**

> title based on the song "[eddie my love](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPC_b1UZ6lM)" by the chordettes

(3 times they wanted to kiss and 1 time they did)

 

 1.  _14 years old_

Eddie could feel the hot sun hitting his skin, warming him up like only a summer sun can. The air was fresh, and the water even more. The quarry was a nice place to come to hang out during the summer, it had this atmosphere that was so inviting. He pushed thoughts of how unsanitary it is to be swimming around in the water, what about all the trash that could be floating around here, what about the germs, what about the dirty _animals?_ _Over a million diseases could be lurking in the water._ Even after realizing that his illness were not real, and becoming aware they were placebos, it did not mean Eddie could easily let go of his anxiety. He is trying though.

“Are you thinking about me and your mother having hot, steamy sex?”

The questions snapped Eddie out of his thoughts, and he turned his head to Richie. They were laying at the edge of the quarry, watching the rest of their group float and play around. It was a hot summer, this one, and the best way to deal with that was coming here. Mike had suggested it, after a hard day at the farm had left him tired and in need for a bit of refreshing fun, so they all naturally agreed.

“What the fuck did you say?” Is what Eddie replied, as his friend’s words barely even registered in his mind. Quite frankly, half of the things Richie said barely registered or made sense to Eddie more than half of the time.

“Your mom, and me. Hot, _steamy,_ sex.” Richie replied earnestly, flashing a smile.

“Do you have any other jokes that don’t include my mom? Or is that all you can come up with?”

“Wow, Eddie Spaghetti’s getting some good chucks today!” He laughed, splashing water towards the other boy, a twinkle in his eyes.

“That’s not my fucking name.”

Richie rolled his eyes, “But Eddie Spaghetti is so much better than just _Eddie.”_ Richie couldn’t help but to joke with Eddie, couldn’t help but to make fun of him, and call him nicknames, because he loved the way that Eddie would always respond, with some a good comeback or some blushing. Richie loved both reactions.

Before they could continue their bickering however, Bill and Bev approached them, soaking wet as they emerged from the water. “You two done? There are other people here, in case you two forgot.” Bev said. Eddie looked up to her, as the sun shone on her hair, making it look like it was on fire. She was wearing her underwear mostly, a blue sorta bra and white underwear. All the other boys had stared at her when she took of her clothes, and Eddie felt strange about not feeling the way the boys in his group felt towards her, or at least how attracted they clearly were towards her.

“Th – they always do th- this, you’ll g – get used to it.” Bill added, but he was smiling. He did not mind their bickering much, until it turned to raunchy. But he wasn’t usually really bothered by it.

“I don’t encourage him. I cant get rid of him.” Eddie sighed. Richie has always been there, as far as Eddie could remember. They had been friends since kindergarten, after Richie had pushed him into the mud – yes, _pushed,_ no matter what Richie says, he pushed Eddie – and since then, they sort of just stuck together, by some miracle and to the horror of Eddie’s mom. She was convinced his friendship with Richie would end in disaster, and that it was a terrible idea. But she also thought that about a lot of things, so Eddie brushed it off.

Stan and Richie were close, but his and Richie’s friendship was even more so. Richie liked to make fun of Eddie more than the others, and call him names and that was annoying (but not really). But he also liked to climb Eddie’s window whenever Eddie needed someone, whenever his mom was too much. He gave Eddie a sense of security he did not seem to find somewhere else, even with his other friends. Eddie chose to ignore the rest of the feelings that Richie invoked in him though, finding it too complicated to deal with at that moment

 As for the rest of the group, they had also met around that time. Stan and Richie knew each other from before, and Bill knew Eddie, and before they knew it, the four of them were a sort of group together; friends. Bev, Mike and Ben came into their group recently, but they settled in so well everyone kinda forgot they have known them for only one summer.

 “You cant get rid of me Eds! You know you love me, cutie.” Richie pinched Eddie’s cheeks, laughing again and brining Eddie out of his thoughts. He also chose to ignore the weird feeling in the pit of his stomach, opting to continue joking. “I know you’re secretly in love with. Sorry though, I’m taken –“

“Don’t say my mo –“

“By your mom.”

“I literally hate you with every inch of my being, fuck off.” Eddie rolled his eyes, thinking _I really don’t hate you. I think that’s the problem._

“Well, that’s not a lot of inches Eds.” He said, laughing at his own joke. But before the other could protest at that stupid reply, Richie grabbed Eddie’s hand and before the other boy could protest, he dragged him into the water with him.

Bev looked at them knowingly, shaking her head.

“ _fuck Richie!_ ” Screamed Eddie, the sudden contact with water surprising him. He chose to ignore that even though they were already in the water, Richie still had not let go of his hand. It felt nice, and Eddie hated how nice it felt.

Richie flashed him another smile, like always, and said, “If you wanted to fuck me, Eds, that’s all you had to say. Your mom says I’m an amazing fuc –“

“Beep beep, Richie” Said Stan, somewhat close enough now to hear their conversations. He rolled his eyes, giving Mike and Ben a knowing look, as if to say _look at this idiots._ Mike just smiled, not saying anything, and Ben openly laughed, continuing to swim with his friends.

Richie did not say anything either, and just floated in the water with Eddie by his side, their hands still interlaced. Eddie looked at Richie, and thought _I want to hold your hand all the time._ When Richie turned to look at him, with a soft face and a hint of laughter in his face, Eddie sighed: _I think I want to kiss you._

 

_2._ _16 years old_

Richie fell on the floor, face first. He let out a groan, a small _fuck_ escaping from his mouth. He heard a light laughter and turned to its source. Eddie was sitting in his bed, with a comic book in hand that was now forgotten. He put it in his nightstand that stood closer to the window and turned to look at the other boy. Before Richie had stumbled into his window, he had been trying to distract himself, reading some things, trying to push his fearful thoughts out of his head.

“How many times have you climbed that window, and you still manage to fall?”

Nothing could ever faze Richie though, so he just smiled and replied: “Eddie Spaghetti, it seems... I have fallen for you.” He had that grinned that he always had whenever he made any joke, full of confidence.

Eddie groaned, “Shut the fuck up.” He chose to ignore the hotness that spread in his cheeks, as he did every time that the other boy made similar jokes.

Richie basically _skipped_ all the way to Eddie’s bed, and since he was a pain and could not behave like a normal person, he launched himself unto the bed rather than just calmly sitting down. He put his hands behind his head, and asked “Why would I do that when you look so cute and flustered when I call you names?”

“Do you ever hear what you say? Because its dumb shit.” Eddie inspected Richie’s face quickly, sighing in relief when he found no marks or scratches from the fall.

“You hurt me, Eds,” said Richie, holding his heart as if faking a broken heart. “I know you are gone for me and that every time I call you a cute name you just mentally undress me. Much like your mom does.”

“You’re so disguising. I hate you.”

“No you don’t,” grinned Richie. “What’s up? Why did you want me to come over?”

Richie could feel sweat beads slowly descending down his forehead, as he started to regret calling Richie. Why did he think that it was a good idea? Why did he think he was ready? He clearly wasn’t. He was going to die, or worse, lose Richie’s friendship. “I don’t have to have a reason. You come over without me giving you a reason,” is what Eddie replied instead.

The other boy raised his eyebrows, “Yeah but this time it seems different.” Richie could be an ass, and he could annoying and cross a lot of lines, but he also knew Eddie very well. He knew what made him mad, and what made him smile. He knew when he was about to have a panic attack and how to calm him down, and he knew when something was bothering the other boy. He could sense something was bothering him right now.

In that moment, Eddie felt his stomach do summersaults. He simultaneously hated how well Richie knew him, but he also loved it. He liked that Richie knew him inside out, because it meant he cared. However, he was still scared. Scared of his best friend’s reaction, and how this would change their dynamic and friendship. He swallowed, biting his lips. His breath started getting a bit labored, and he cursed at himself for getting so worked up.

“What is it, Eddie?” Richie asked, more softly this time. He stared at Eddie, watching him carefully.

“I have something to tell you,” he said, sounding terrified.

“Ooh, juicy, secret stuff? Eds, do tell, you –“

“There’s something wrong with me,” was what the other boy blurted out, taking quick breaths. His head was spinning a little. He recognizes that earlier, he had practices this, how he would say it, how he would explain it, but in the moment, he sort of forgot about the words he had rehearsed.

“I doubt that, cutie. You’re perfect, with your cute short shorts, and your cute fanny packs.” Richie replied earnestly, pocking Eddie’s cheeks.

Eddie stayed quiet thought, ignoring Richie’s touch and not bothering to give Richie a response that he usually gave: _shut the fuck up, don’t call me that, that’s not my name, you’re annoying._ Richie has never liked silence, but he especially hated this one. He did not say anything else though, waiting for Eddie to say anything.

 “I don’t like girls.”

It was barely audible, just a whisper that Richie almost did not catch. He blinked a few times, the words meaning registering in his mind. He slowly got up, into a sitting position. “You .. don’t like girls?” Richie asked slowly, not wanting, for once, to say something dumb.

Eddie was completely still, staring ahead, away from Richie’s probing gaze. He has known for awhile, but it had still taken him sometime to even work up the courage to say the words out loud, even to himself. He doesn’t know what prompt him to tell Richie; he thinks it was the desperate need to confide in someone else, the need for _someone’s_ acceptance. In the back of his mind, he knew it was because Richie was someone important to him, and his opinion of Eddie meant a lot, even if he couldn’t admit it, and he wanted Richie’s support and love specifically, he wanted him, out of everybody, to know first. Finally, he nodded, replying: “I’m gay,” in another low whisper.

Richie took a deep breath, he grabbed Eddie’s face, making Ed face him. He could see the other boy’s uncertainty, and the fear. “That’s okay,” he replied softly, “You’re still my Eds, doesn’t matter who you like.” Richie could feel his heart scrunch up, recognized how much he loved the feeling of the other boy’s skin against his own hand.

Eddie’s eyes darted around, looking all around Richie’s face, searching for any signs of disgust, anger, or anything and when he found nothing, he sighed, somewhat in relief. He felt a weight off his shoulders that he almost become used to. Richie’s hand was still holding his cheek, as they stared at each other in silence for a moment. He wished Richie would just surge forward and kiss him, that he would just _do something._

But Richie didn’t, choosing to smile at him, removing his hand and saying, “Does that mean you really _are_ secretly in love with me?”

Eddie laughed, shoving Richie slightly. “I’m going to kill you in your sleep Rich.”

“Anything to get you in bed with me, Eddie Spaghetti,” replied the other boy, winking.

They fell into a comfortable silence after.

And he ignored the feeling in his stomach. _I think I am in love with you._

 

_3._ _18 years old_

The start of the senior year brought many new fear for Eddie. He couldn’t acknowledge that after this, he might rarely, if ever, see his group of friends again. He was excited at the prospect of a new chapter, of college, but that the thought of leaving Bil, Mike, Stan, Ben, Bev, _Richie_ was also enough to make him uncertain of the future and what it held for him.

He shook those thoughts though, focusing on the present rather than the future.

Bill had invited the group to his house to sleep over, and when asked what was the occasion, he stayed silent and didn’t reply. Eddie understood what the silent meant; he knew he was not the only one worrying about the group separating and wanted to spend as much time as they could together.

“I was thinking –“ Started Richie, as he finally arrives at Bill’s, dumping his backpack in the floor. It had been raining a little but outside, so Richie’s hair was a bit damp, curls bouncing everywhere. His Nirvana t-shirt was also wet, but Richie didn’t seem to mind at least.

“Don’t hurt yourself,” interrupted Stan, deadpan.

Richie doesn’t bat an eye, replying, “fuck you,” to Stan. He stopped, forgetting what he was going to say, as his train of thought was interrupted. He turns to Stan once again, “no, really, fuck you.”

Stan just grinned.

Bill rolled his eyes. “I was j- just going to put s- some movies later.” There was a silence, as everyone nodded nonchalant at the easy suggestion. Bev appeared at the door. Her hair was longer now, and some of the red color had faded a bit, but she still looked amazing. She put her backpack next to Richie’s, saying, “hi” to everyone. She then crosses the room, on her way to say to Bill, and ruffled Richie’s curly hair and Eddie wished he could do that without second guessing himself.

Eddie shook his head, and quietly laid down in Bill’s bed as he tried to ignore the usual bickering from his friends.

“Where are Ben and Mike?” Inquired Bev, sitting on a chair close to window.

“They had book club meeting,” responded Stan, who was close to Richie, organizing Bill’s movies, and occasionally smacking Richie’s hand away from his beautiful work.

“When are they coming?” asked Richie, as he moved his hand fast enough to make Stan’s 100th smack land on air. Stan turned to glare at him.

“You g – guys are so im – impatient,” responded Bill, “they’ll be here in like 10 mi – minutes.”

Richie wanted to be a little shit, but he struggled to come up with a good comeback. “You’re the ones who are – who are impatient.”

“Was that supposed to be a joke? Because it made no sense,” Bev said, grinning.

“Your mom makes no sense.”

“That was a terrible one, Richie,” Stan grumbled.

“All of Richie’s jokes are terrible,” added Eddie, finally speaking. He saw Stan smile at him, and he laughed with him as Richie gave them a look of annoyance.

“You are all assholes.”

 

They were laying on the couch, and Eddie could hardly concentrate on the movie at all. Richie had sat next to him, and his warmth, his skin touching Eddie had been enough to make him distracted. He could occasionally hear Richie make a joke about the movie, and the other’s responses, but all conversation sounded – blurry to him. He couldn’t concentrate, he couldn’t stop thinking and fantasizing about the boy next to him.

He hated this. He hated how much control Richie had over him.

Eddie closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. He laid his head on the couch’s arm, trying to ignore the warmth next to him. Before he knew it, he had fallen asleep. He dreamt of a curly haired boy, and his hands holding Eddie’s.

 

“Eds, Eds.”

Eddie could hear someone calling his name, but he couldn’t bother to open his eyes. He was very comfortable, and felt like he had had the best nap of his life.

“Eddie, I gotta go the bathroom, get up.”

He groaned, “shut the fuck up,” he said, wondering how in hell was he in the way of whomever wanted to get up. He heard another whisper of his name and finally opted to open his eyes slowly. He was somewhat... on Richie? He was not awake enough to process his situation. In his sleep, he must have turned to the other boy, cuddling him.

He immediately sat up straight, murmuring “sorry, didn’t mean to fall asleep on you.”

Richie smiled, “Its okay, cutie. I don’t mind.” He got up, and Eddie watched him cross the room, into the hallway where the bathroom was. He blinked a few times. He noticed that the TV was still on, and a movie was still playing but the rest had the group had left the living room. They must have also felt tired but instead relocated to Bill’s room rather than the living room. He slightly smacked his face, dragging his hands down, wondering what Richie must have thought of him cuddling with him.

He sat up, stretching.

Richie re-entered the room, and promptly sat down in the same spot he was before. “You can sit on my lap this time,” He said, wiggling his eyebrows.

Eddie glared at him, his cheeks betraying by heating up.

“I’m going to sleep in Bill’s room,” he said, turning around.

“Wait no, stay.” Richie leaned forward.

Eddie stopped, looking at Richie’s eyes behind those glasses.

“I just want to finish this one movie, and go to sleep. Stay.”

Eddie hated how much control Richie had over him, he truly did. He sighed, sitting on the couch, but this time, on the other side, opposite of Richie.

Richie said his eyebrows at Eddie and the distance between them, “I don’t bite Eds,” he snickered, “Unless you want me to,” he said, this time winking.

Ed turned to face him with a deadpan face, thinking _how in the world do I like him? He’s a child. With terrible jokes._ He didn’t budge from his spot, instead choosing to ignore Richie’s comments and facing the TV.

Richie was not having it though, so he got up, and walked till he was in front of Eddie, and decided to sit on the other boy’s lap, long legs and all. He left Eddie stunned, as his eyes darted everywhere. Richie was affectionate yes, always touching his cheeks, his arms. But he had never had Richie on his lap.

“What the fuck Richie.” _What the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck._ He was going to have a Richie induced-panic attack.

Richie accommodated himself, changing to a more comfortable position in silence; he slid down the couch, his head now on Eddie’s lap. “Shush, Eds. I’m watching the movie.”

Eddie blinked, still trying to figure out what happened. He swallowed, and stared at the TV, trying to distract himself with the movie. And after a while, he had got used to it. Absentmindedly, his hand moved to Richie’s curls, just playing with it.

 Richie could actually feel his heart beating hard as he felt his friend’s hand in his hair, and he tried his best to stay still, not wanting to disturb him in a way that would make him stop. He wasn’t paying attention to the screen now, his thoughts all wrapped around Eddie. He breathed in slowly, his heart aching. He wanted to get up, and grab Eddie by his stupid polo shirt, and pull him towards Richie’s own lips. But he doubt that’s what Eddie wanted, so he just savored the moment, enjoying Eddie’s hand in his hair, wishing it could always be like this. _I wish I could just be with you, and I wish I could just have your lips on mine, just once._

_+1. 20 years old_

“Why don’t you shut the fuck up and actually help me.”

“Why don’t you _make_ shut up, Eds?”

Eddie turned around, with a deadpan face. He stared at Richie, until finally he sighed and walked to the door of the apartment. He grabbed the couch that Eddie was trying, unsuccessfully, to pull into the apartment. He grabbed the end of the couch, as Eddie grabbed the other end, and together they lifted it up, making a slight groaning noise that any other time, Richie would have made a joke about.

“Walk to the other side of the room, no – no, not there, in front of the window,” instructed Eddie. They slowly lowered it on the floor, and he finished positioning it to his liking. As soon as he was satisfied with it, he hadn’t yet finished taking a step when Richie jumped unto the couch, like a maniac. “If you manage to somehow destroy this couch before it even makes it to day one, I’m going to actually murder you,’ he lightly threatened, picking up trash from the apartment floor – mostly take out bags that Richie had left in the living room because he couldn’t be bothered to _walk_ to the trash bin in the kitchen, which was like, 6 steps from the living room.

“We’re definitely destroying this couch later, Eddie Spaghetti,” he winked, settling in the couch, arms behind his head. The light coming from the window was shining directly in his face, so he closed his eyes, enjoying the moment. However, the moment was disturbed almost right after, as Eddie was literally taking Richie’s shoes off.

“No shoes on the couch!” Eddie exclaimed, neatly putting the pair of shoes by the entrance. Richie didn’t protest, simply softly smiled at the other boy, used to his antics by now. He then walked to the kitchen, craving a cup of coffee. The kitchen was perfectly organized, despite the pair moving into the apartment just less than a week ago, which was mostly thanks to Eddie, obviously. Richie would just stand by the entrance of the kitchen, watching Eddie put everything away. He would occasionally offer his help, but Eddie always turned him down because he knew he would only distract him somehow, and the kitchen would end up a mess.

He made his usual cup, and almost as reflex, made Richie one too. Black, with sugar. He stood leaning against the counter, softly blowing on the hot coffee. He grabbed Richie’s cup, and walked towards the new couch – but not so new because they had actually gotten it at a second-hand store but whatever, it was new _to them_ – and handed the cup to Richie. He gingerly took it, sitting up to be able to actually drink it. Eddie sat down on the space Richie’s long legs had freed up, also sipping his coffee. He let himself relax and sink into the couch, tired. They had spent almost all day moving furniture around, but it was it worth it. They actually managed to make the apartment look somewhat good, livable, cozy. Eddie was proud, and he knew so was Richie.

He turned his face, and admire the way the sunlight from the window hit Richie’s face, making his brown eyes seem more light than usual, and how it made Richie’s skin look warm, and tan. He smiled in his cup.

Richie noticed the staring. “What are you looking at, cutie?”

“How good of a job I did decorating this place,” replied Eddie, turning away, not daring to give Richie the satisfaction of knowing he was admiring him. God knows his ego didn’t need it. He heard Richie chuckle, fully knowing that wasn’t what he was looking at.

“Yeah, you did a great job,” he said softly, looking around. “What did your mom say about us moving in together?”

Eddie rolled his eyes, “You know her; she always had a heart attack. She’s still convinced this is a terrible idea, so.” He admitted.

Richie bit the inside of his cheek, “But she’s wrong. This was definitely not a bad idea,” he murmured. Eddie turned to face him, the other boy’s low voice surprising him. He knew how insecure Richie could get sometimes. How he masked them with terrible, _terrible_ jokes.

“This was not a bad idea,” he agreed. Richie smiled, putting his coffee on the table next to the couch – this one he had actually chosen, after begging Eddie and promising he would choose something normal and nice – and moved closer to Eddie. Eddie didn’t move an inch, his gaze following Richie’s movements. Richie then grabbed his own cup, setting in the floor. He started to open his mouth, about to start scolding Richie about putting cups in the floor, and how they could leave marks, _they bought coasters for a reason, use them,_ but before he could say all that, Richie put his hands on his cheek, effectively shutting him up before he even started. Richie just stared at him for a little, prompting Eddie to ask: “You’re gonna kiss me or just stare at me, weirdo.”

Richie laughed, and complied. Their lips touched, and moved together. Eddie couldn’t believe that he still felt the same feelings he did the first time they kissed, some two years ago, right at the end of senior year. He moved his hands to Richie’s head, tangling his fingers in his hair. He pulled away, knowing if he continued, they would get carried away and then still needed to finish some things, so they couldn’t. He stood up, grabbing the cup from the floor first, because _dirty floor,_ and said: “Get up, we still got things to clean.”

The other boy obeyed. He felt giddy, the prospect of living with Eddie giving him butterflies in his stomach. “We can now fuck all we want, and you can be loud as you want now that we’re not sharing with Stan and Bill,” snickered Richie. He saw color rise in Eddie’s cheeks and smiled even more.

“Shut the fuck up Richie,”

“You kiss your mother with that mouth, Eds?”

Eddie just snorted, and thought _no, I kiss_ you _with this mouth, whenever I want._

**Author's Note:**

> i was truly scared to write this, mostly because i was scared of not getting eddie's and richie's characterization right and them coming of as OC. I did my best, hopefully its good! i have recently become obsessed with this two. visit me, talk to me at my tumblr [@adorablefucks](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/adorablefucks) if u want to talk about how this two ruined your life lmao


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